Jamie McGinn warms up before an Avalanche game March 1 against Columbus. /John Leyba, The Denver Post

When I did a little word association with Jamie McGinn, these things came to mind right away: Good shot, not great in own zone, very physical at times, not as much other times. In other words, good but a little too inconsistent.

He’s one of those tweener players: good to have around, very serviceable in today’s game and probably always destined to see his name in trade rumors. That’s not as big a knock as it sounds. It means he’s probably going to be employed for a good many years to come in this league because he does bring some good things to the rink.

He scored 19 goals and had 38 points in 79 games, with a minus-3. In seven playoff games, he had two goals and five points. Pretty decent numbers overall. But when looking at advanced statistics, McGinn’s numbers were a little spotty: -7.78 On-Ice Corsi, 47 percent, Corsi For Percentage. He was on the ice 33.9 percent of the time during Avalanche power-play time on the season, well below that of other top forwards such as P.A. Parenteau (48.6 percent), Matt Duchene (53.7), Ryan O’Reilly (50.7), Gabe Landeskog (46.8) and Paul Stastny (47.3).

What that says, to me anyway, is that McGinn didn’t quite earn enough trust from Patrick Roy to get more power-play time. And on the power play is where McGinn needs to be at his best to be of full value to a team. He did score five power-play goals, which is a decent number. But ideally this is a guy who, with his talent and size, could get 10-15 a year — especially with so many other talented forwards around him.

When McGinn seemed to get in trouble with Roy this season, it had to do with not being physical enough around the net. He’s 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, so while not overly huge, he’s still a pretty big forward. I think Roy would like to see him play a little bigger. Defensively, he can get caught not moving his feet enough or just not being real active. He only blocked 35 shots on the season, while even guys like Duchene (43) and Nathan MacKinnon (45) blocked more.

Otherwise, McGinn has a good, hard shot and for the most part he drives to the net with consistency. He’s durable and dishes out his share of hits (his 140 were fourth-most on the team).

McGinn’s contract is up. His cap hit was $1.75 million and can be a restricted free agent. After this coming season, he’ll be eligible for unrestricted status, as this will be his seventh pro season despite the fact he’s only 25. Question is, will the Avs try to sign him for a longer-term deal now — which would necessitate probably paying a “premium” for some of that UFA time they’d buy out? Do they just do a one-year deal and worry about it next summer? Or do they trade him now?

As of now, it’s unclear exactly what the Avs’ plans are, but my understanding was that the Avs want to bring him back. We’ll see. He’s only 25 and he’s scored 19 goals two years in a row. In today’s NHL, that gets you paid.

I like McGinn a lot and he was one of our most consistent player in the playoffs. He is a very good winger and a perfect third line winger. Very valuable.

Smell the Glove

McGinn is a guy who I like, but maybe I have too high of expectations. I didn’t expect such a good grade but I don’t see a lot to argue with either. I just may not appreciate his contributions very much. He did have a hell of a start with the Avs when he was first traded over, maybe that pace was a bit too torrid to maintain.

tigervixxxen

McGinn didn’t play on the PP when all the other top 6 forwards were healthy. He’s a valuable piece to the team, he plays his role well and can fill in for injuries well. I hope he sticks around.

pascalp

Mc Ginn is a solid third line winger that has enough talent to play some top 6 time when needed. He is still pretty young and will only get better. Besides, the Avs don’t really have the depth on the wings to replace him. Please sign him, ideally long term.

mikeladen

And he’s got some size which is badly needed.

shaker

Try to get a couple of years at a relatively sane amount and I’m sold. Sometimes he just seems to need that extra little bit of motivation. Overall I liked him this past season and if more of his attempts actually hit the net he could be dangerous.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.